This is a continuing series about clients I have worked for and admire.
Thus far in this series I have profiled Kasha Bartholomew, Paul Trylko, Casey Leaman, Karen Ganzlin, Mike Klockenga, Tony Budet and Debbie Mitchell.
Vickey Thayer Kleinsmith was the former and now retired VP of Human Resources for Lozier Corporation. Our excellent business relationship started with a cold call in 1998 when I had an office in Lincoln, Ne. She liked what she heard and we set up an in-person meeting.
Fast forward from that initial face-to-face meeting, we engaged on 12 executive searches together over a period from 1998-2008.
Why do I admire Vickey? She partnered with us versus just treating my firm like a vendor. She knew that her role was to help each other get the search done in the most efficient way with high quality results. She brought an extensive knowledge of the search process, could shepherd the process along and could truly communicate the Lozier company culture to us. She would take the time to package her feedback on any unsuccessful candidates so that my firm understood exactly what was required. I also felt like I was part of the Lozier team when working with and for Vickey. There was no blame. It was always about getting the search project accomplished as a team.
Now that she has retired, we have become good friends and our respective families are friends.
That cold call made in 1998 truly was a stroke of luck and a blessing.
